Dental Health – New Year’s Resolutions

New Year – a time to look forward
So here we are. A new year already and suddenly we’re weeks into it. Did you make any resolutions on New Year’s Day or the time leading up to it?

For many of us, a new year is all about looking forward and anticipating changes that we’re hoping to make to improve our lives. These could be small changes like cutting down on caffeinated drinks or it could be a major lifestyle change like quitting smoking.

One area that never really gets mentioned within people’s lists of resolutions is dental health – but there are definitely some opportunities to think about our dental habits and incorporate some changes as we move further into this (still new) year.Dental health resolutions
There are a number of areas to look at when deciding on dental health resolutions to make, so here are a few suggestions:

The dental health hardware
The humble tooth brush. That item we take with us on holiday. It’s actually quite a close friend, the toothbrush, considering that we meet it early in the morning and it’s often the last thing we use before retiring to bed at night.

But could your toothbrush be better? For instance, you may not be using an electric type toothbrush. If not, these are worthy of your investigation. They’re recommended by oral health charities, such as the British Dental Health Foundation. Using an electric toothbrush also means that you might find cleaning your teeth a bit less effort since the brush itself does most of the work, and it’s also a bit of a novelty to use one if you’re used to the traditional type of brush.

In the past, some studies have indicated that many of us don’t brush for the recommended time – so manufacturers have now cleverly developed electric toothbrushes with timers built-in, helping to solve the problem of under-brushing.

Considering a dental plan
As anyone who has ever required dental treatment these days will tell you, it can be an expensive business. And unplanned expenses can be a real headache. So getting a dental plan means that for a small monthly outlay, you have the peace of mind in knowing that hefty treatment bills will be covered (although, of course, subject to annual limits).

Eating healthy with tooth health in mind
There are many ways to help make sure that your daily eating is helping your tooth health. Take cheese for instance – not only does it help neutralise acid in your mouth but it also contains calcium. In small amounts after a meal then, cheese can be a friend to healthy teeth. Of course one of the main dietary habits for good health is to stay away from sugar-laden treats and snack on something a bit healthier instead.

On top of the suggestions above, there are also dental health habits such as flossing, that are very important if you don’t already floss regularly, plus resolving to make regular trips to the dentist for check ups.